This invention relates to a foldable walking stabilizer device for physically disabled persons, allowing such persons to move in a natural and well supported manner, and is more particularly concerned with a foldable U-shaped rolling walking stabilizer device which provides great control for the user and is very stable and maneuverable.
Conventional walker devices have comprised light weight tubular frames, usually of aluminum, which are lifted by the user and manipulated in the direction of desired movement, then placed on the ground or other surface to support the next step of the user. These walker devices are very slow and cumbersome, require substantial effort to lift and manipulate, and their use is often taxing and causes pain to a physically disabled person. An example of such a conventional invalid walker device is shown in Lewy U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,940, granted May 8, 1990.
To improve the maneuverability of such devices, wheels have been added to them; for example, in Berning U.S. Pat. No. 4,941,496, granted Jul. 17, 1990, a walker device with wheels is disclosed, and this device has two wheels on its foremost legs. Further improvements have been developed, such as providing wheels on all four supports, and making such walker devices foldable to be more convenient to transport and store, as shown, for example, in Rose U.S. Pat. No. 4,907,794 of Mar. 13, 1990. Brakes for rolling walker devices are also disclosed in the prior art, such as in Turbeville U.S. Pat. No. 5,020,560, dated Jun. 4, 1991, and such braking systems usually make the walker easier for a disabled person to stop.
However, these prior art walkers have not been as stable and maneuverable as desired, or provide the desired high level of control, and have been inadequately versatile to accommodate some qualitative as well as quantitative disabilities of the intended users. For example, such conventional walker devices at best to a very limited extent only permit the user to turn in place, usually by picking up the device, and they do not provide optimum and quick control for the user, with minimum effort, while giving suitable support under most conditions of use. Nor are such control mechanisms sufficiently protected from misadjustment or abuse during normal operations. Additionally, these prior art devices do not anticipate unforeseen difficulties which a disabled user may run into, such as an inability to cope with obstacles such as curbs or rough surfaces, an inability to avoid sudden obstacles or hazards, or an inability to lift or cope with even relatively light weights.